BEAUMONT, Texas — Next week, the Beaumont school board will find out what district administrators are doing to improve campuses following a low Texas Education Agency rating.
(Editor's note: The above video is from an August 2022 newscast.)
The TEA released the 2021-2022 school year accountability ratings in August 2022. That was the first year accountability rating have been given since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Texas schools are rated on an “A through F” scale based on three criteria: students' achievements, school progress and closing the gaps.
Districts that receive an overall rating below 70% are not given a “D” or “F." Their scores are listed as “not rated.”
Beaumont ISD was “not rated” because the district scored a 67.
The school district has set in place a five-year plan to improve ratings, which includes creating tailored plans for each campus.
“We had several campuses that actually showed significant improvement," Beaumont ISD Superintendent Dr. Shannon Allen said. "The district, along with a school board, set a lofty goal. Within the next five years, we wanted to increase the number of “A and B” campuses from two to eight. That was our goal by 2025. Based on last year’s accountability ratings, we went from two to 10.”
District officials have a school turnaround strategy.
"We analyze the performance of our schools and then we redesign and restart, restructure campuses that meet the needs of the community and the students, so that ultimately you’re creating new schools that are high-quality," Dr. Allen said.
One of the campuses district officials have seen improvement in is Martin Elementary.
"We implemented a redesign there to, you know, change the curriculum," Beaumont ISD Superintendent Dr. Shannon Allen said. "We added some different supports to the campus. Martin is an example of one of the campuses that in the previous year was an "F-rated" school, but went to a "B-rated" school."
Officials believe a key factor in improvement is quality instruction.
"We are coaching our teachers," Dr. Allen said. "We have reading coaches and math coaches. Our campuses have a lot of support that we’re pushing in using federal support dollars.”
Dr. Allen believes it will take a joint effort from school officials, parents and the community for the district to improve.
“I want parents to hold us accountable for the work and the product that we produce, you know, in our field, our goal is to produce students who are prepared for the next generation,” Dr. Allen said.
The five-year plan also includes a mentorship program for students who are struggling and provides additional resources to teachers.
“Thirty-five percent of our campuses actually increased a letter grade," Dr. Allen said. "We are making progress. We are improving. We are analyzing our campus data. We are making certain that we are putting in place the supports to make sure that our students perform.
Dr. Allen defended Beaumont ISD stating the district has a different make-up and the state recognizes that.
"You have to analyze the data," Dr. Allen aid. You have to look deeply into the data for each individual district. We have a different make-up and the state recognizes that and compares us to districts that are like us in size and demographics. We don’t look like the surroundings districts in our area."
The superintendent said Beaumont ISD does not look like surrounding districts in the area.
"I tell parents you can’t compare me to Lumberton, or Port Arthur, or PNG or Bridge City," Dr. Allen said. "Beaumont ISD has unique circumstances, unique students, unique demographics.